wiswell



(No Modem ars'heets--shet 1.

P. A. WISWELL.

.MACHINE POR MAKING WIRE ROPE.

(No Model.) s sheets-sheet 2.

n Y I. A. WISWELL.

MACHINE POR MAKING WIRE ROPE.

No. 276,318. A Patented A.pr.24, 1883.

Fay.' 2. l j@ .i

N, PETEPS. Pnelulhagnpher, whingion. llc4 P. A. WISWELLl` MACHINE''F011l MAKING WIRE RUIM-3.4 Y

Patented Ap1-.24,1883.

(No Model.)

MGSSES:

`UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK A. WISWELL, BEEBE PLAIN, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES C. COLBY, `OF STANSTEAD, QUEBEC, CANADA.

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE ROPE.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of VLetters Patent`No. 276,318, dated April 24,1883.

` Application filed August 12, 1882. `(No modell) To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. WIs- WELL, a'citizen-ot'` Canada, residing at `Beebe Plain, in the county of Stanstead and Province of Quebec,()anada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Makin which the strain appliedthereto will be borne by all the wires composing the same;

and, secondly, to obtain a cheaper` and superior working rope.` l

The machine comprising my invention is capable of laying individual wires around cores to form strand-cores; next, laying individual wires around the strand-cores to form strands, and, lastly, layingthe strands around a main i `or rope core to form the rope, all in one continuous operation. C

For a full understanding of my invention.

reference is made to the'annexed drawings, and to the following description and claims.l

Referring to the` drawings,.Figure 1, Sheet l,is a plan view of my improved machine, someof the parts being broken away and others removed to more clearly illustrate the principal working portion of the machine. Fig. Sheet 2, is a front elevation of one of the general heads or groups of mechanism with a number of the spool-carriers removed and the arm `g broken away. Fig. Sisa longitudinal vertical section thereof. Fig. 4 is an end view of one of the spool-carriers. Fig. 5 is a similar view, illustrating` the end opposite to that shown in' Fig. 4.- Fig. 6 is a front elevation, partly inV section, of a spool-carrier. Fig. 7, Sheet 3, is an enlarged sectional view of the strand-laying-head mechanism. Fig. Sis an elevation of the slotted sector for supporting `the Mijnst-` able gearfbetween the drivin g and main shafts, and Fig. 9 is a `transverse section of a'hoisting-rope. I L Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar` characters'of reference. 1

In the accompanying drawings, A marks a frame adapted to support the operating mechanism, and B the central hollow shaft, supported. at its rear end in bearings u a', secured to the frame A, and at its forward end in the rope-laying head O, which is held in bearings a2 in the said frame A. This rope-laying head O may be of any known form or construction suitable for the purpose, though I have shown that form which is fully described in an application filed by me July 1l, 18S-2, numbered 66,859, to which reference is made.

Two "hubs, D G, are` secured to the main shaft B at a suitable distance apart, and are respectively provided with six radiating arms, d g, whose extremities support six general heads orgronps of mechanism, which are designed to manufacture the strand-cores and strands, and since said heads are alike in construction and operation I confine myself to a specific description of one of them, as illustrated iu Figs. 2 and 3 ofthe drawings. Referring, then, to said figures, d marks one of the arms'of the hub I), partly broken away, and having the sleeve d secured to its end, said sleeve receiving and supporting the hollow shaft c. Secured with a` set-screw, e', to the hollow shaft e, in front of the sleeve d', is the head E, provided with a number of arms, e2, projecting from its rim, said armsdesigned to receive the spool-carriers, to be4 presently described. Secured to the head E,\opposite each other, are two arms, F F', which project forward and inward, and at the extremity of the shorter arm, F', form an annular bearing, f3, (shown in Fig. l.) for the strand-core-laying head, which will'be presently set forth. The other` arm, F, extends forward of the strand-core-laying head, and ends in the hub f, which has a rim,f', connected to said hub' by means of the spokesj'z. (Shown in Fig. 2.) The said arm F, hub j', rim j", and spokesfZ are formedin the present instancein one piece. The rimj" has a `bearing in the end of the army, as shown. `The base H of the strandlaying head is screwed into the hub f, and is curved and tapered, as shown, to receive the sleeve h, which has its inner surface curved in such manner as to lit the curved surface of the base, as more fully indicated in Fig. 7. The sleeve h is held on the base H' by means of the IOC tube I, which passes through base H, and receives at its forward end the spider J, which in turn bears against the sleeve h. The tube Ireceives a thumb-num', at its rearend, vwhich presses against a coiled spring, t', encircling said tube between saidv thumb-nut and the end of the base H, as clearly shown in Fig. 7. A set-screw, 71,', passes partly through the base H and intoa slot, t2, in the tube I, to prevent a rotation of the tube while permitting longitudnal motion thereof. By means of the thumb-nut i and coiled spring i', the sleeve h can be properly adjusted on its base, yet not dividual wire, whereby entanglement of the' wires with oneanother will be prevented and their proper laying into the strand facilitated.

l provide the concaved surface in the base H, and the contiguous convexed surface Ain the sleeve h, to cause said base and sleeve and the spider J to act as a wire-straightener.

It will be seen by referring to Fig. 7, which shows sleeve h removed from close contact withbase H, to permit the passage `of a wire between them, that said wire bears against the parts at threepoints-namelyg against base H at its largest diameter, against the central part of the curved surface ofthe sleeve h, and against the spider J in one of its slots. Further, it will be observed that the portion ot' the curved snrface of sleeve h against which the wire bears is at a point below a rightline drawn from the bearing-points of the base and spider. This construction vis provided so that upon drawing the wire through the parts it will be bent to a curve which shall approximate the curve otherwise given to a Wire when laid into a strand. By this operation of parts all bends or curves that may be in the wire as it leaves a spool will be removed and the curvature or bend given ent tension andstraightening mechanism and greatly simplifying the construction of the machine.

r7c marks a hollow shaft partly inclosed by the shaft e, but extending at both ends beyond it, and having the disk K secured to itin front of the head E with a set-screw, 7c. This disk is provided with anumber of arms, 7a2, projecting from its face, -to economize space, instead ot from its periphery, as inthe case of the headV E, said arms k2 designed to bear spool-carriers containing wire-bearing spools.

4head E or disk K.

Formed in one piece with the hub of the disk K, and extending forward therefrom in acurved manner, as shown, is an arm,-L, which endsin the hub and rim l', formed in one piece therewith, said parts supporting the strandcore-laying head composed of the curved base M, sleeve m, spider N, slotted tube m', set-screw m2, thumb-nut n, and coiled spring n', all of' which are constructed in amanner similar to the parts composing the strand-layinghead,with the single exception that the spider N has a less number ot' slots than the spider J, because of the less number of Wires used in the construction of the strand-core. The strandcore -laying head has all the capabilities incident to the strand-laying head, as described hereinbcfore.

Referring to one of the spool-carriers (illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, and 6) that are secured to the arms e2 of the strand-head E, and the armsk2 of the disk K, 0 marks the base, o the rigid arm disposed at right angles to said base, and o the swinging arm pivoted to the opposite end thereof. -Engaging with the pair of lugs o2, formed one on each side of the rigid arm o, is la friction-block, P, held in frictional contact with the friction-wheel Q, journaled inthe upper end of'arm o, by means of the spring @abutting against the adjustingscrew p, working Vin the lower part ot' vsaid arm o. Cast on the inner face ot` the friction-wheel is a corrugated or ribbed stud, q, which partly projects into the hub of the spool R, and, by reason of the corrugations or ribs, causes the spool and friction-wheel to be revolved together when the spool is rotated. The swinging arm is provided at its end with a smooth or, if desired, corrugated stud, q', working on the pin g2, and partially'inserted in the` contiguous end of the hub of the spool R, and is held in such position to retain said spool in the spool-carrier by means of the bent retaining-wire o3, which is passed around the swinging arm o', engages with the cam-web o4 on said arm, and has its ends secured to the arm o, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. By thisconstruction of parts it will be seen that the spool Roan be readily removed from the spool-carrier by pressing or forcing tbe'retaiuing-wire o3 away from the cam-web o4 and toward the base O, to permit arm o to be swung ontward to release the spool,and, further, that the friction between wheel Q and block P can be increased or diminished by means of the adjustingscrew p. This frictional mechanism is designed to prevent the spool revolving by reason yot' the spring of the wire coiled thereon. The base O is provided with aprojection havinga circnlaropening, 05, and set-'screw o6, to enable the spool-carrier to be placed and retained on an arm, e2 or k2, of the It will be noticed from the drawings that the head E is capable of carrying twelve spool-carriers. containing each a wire-bearing spool, R, and that the disk K is adapted to carry six spool-carriers, which also contain wire-bearingspools.

S marks a core-spool suitably held on van IIO 276.815 I y e y arm, s,` screwed into the sleeve d', to` which also is held the shields', having retainingstuds s2, ,said shield extending in an outward and then inward curved direction to the rear end of shaft k, by which means a core for the strand-core may be passed from the core-spool S to and into the hollow shaftk, and thence to and into the tube m of the strand-core-laying` head to become incorporated into the strandcore at the spider N.

The spaces betweenthe spokes f2, rim f', and basef permit Wires from the spools on the head E to be passed to the strand-laying head, and the same provision is made with reference to the wires passing from the spools on the disk K to the st.randcorelayin g head.

As shown in Fig. 3, the shaft e is provided in rear of the sleeve d with a bevel-gear, e3, andthe shaft 7c hasta similar gear, k3, at its rear end, both of which mesh with the bevelgear ton the outer end of shaft T, held in bearings t,secured to the back of thearm` d.

As shown in Fig. l, the inner end of shaft T has a bevel-gear, t2, engaging with the bevelgear u, cast in one piece with or secnred to the spur-gear U to form a double gear, which is free to turn on the main shaft B.

Meshing with the spur-gear Uof thedouble gear-wheel is an idle-Wheel, V, adjustablyheld by means of a journal boltyv, in the slotted sector e', secured to the frame A. The idle-gearA l V may be adjusted in the slotted 'standard to cause it to mesh with'the spur-gear U and the pinion w,\vhereby an increased or diminished speed will be transmitted from shaft W to said double gear-wheel, t'romv'liich motion is communicated to the strand-head E through shaft T, its gears t t2, bevel-gear e?, and shaft e, and todisk K through said shaft T, its gears, the bevel-gear k3, and shaft k. y

Keyed to the shaft W isa spur-getinte', meshing with the idlegear fr, held by a journalbolt, fr', to the arm rc2, forming part ofthe sleeveX, which is free to turn on main shaft B. The` arm m2 is removablyheld tothe standard :r3 to insure the proper meshing of idle-gear a:

` withrgearw' and spur-gear X', keyed to the main shaft B. -A

to2 marks a band-wheel keyed to shaft W, through which motion may be imparted `to said shaft from a suitable motor.

Y marks a reel held in bearings to the frame A below the main shaft, from which a suitable rope-core may be passed to and through the main 'shaftrB to the rope-laying head (J.

yindicates a `shield `to guide the rope-core to the shaft B, andty a pivoted lever which rests onone of the disks ofthe reel, and `is core willtbe drawn from the reel under tension fto prevent a `too rapid unwinding thereof.

` With the exception of the slotted sector e', with its gear V, and the fact that one idle-gear `instead of two is interposed betweengear fw' on shaftW and gear X on main shaft B, the foregoing-described drive and reel mechanism,

`including shafts T, are identical with those described in the application hereiubefore nienor more times around the rotating drawing-oli" wheelZ, is prevented from lapping on itself by means of the inverted cones z, and is taken from the drawing-wheel Z, as it is drawn thereon, by the oppositely-revolving rolls z,whence it may be passed to a `suitable reeling device, to which motion may be.` given through a belt engaging with the pulleys?. t

lt will be seen from the foregoing that `the main sha-ft B receives motion through gear X', keyed thereto, while the groups of mechanism which are designed to form `the strands and strand-cores receive motion from the double gear-wheel u U, looseon said main shaft B.

- As now constructed and described, my imforhoisti n g purposesgeneran y termedhoist` `ing-rope-said rope being composed of six wireslaid around a wire center or core to form a strandeore, twelve wi res laid around a stra ndcore to form a strand, and six strands laid around a main or rope core to form the rope shown in Fig. 9. i i

'Assuming that the six groups ofmechanism contain the iequired number of spools B, filled with wire, the core-spools S are tilledl with the reqiiired cores, the reel Y contains the propery rope-core, the machineis properlyr threaded, and thewires are drawn foi-.vardaround the drawing wheel Z, and through the drawingrolls z', the operation ofthe parts tomake the rope shown in Fig. 9 will be as follows: Upon giving. motion to the described drive mechanism, the disks `K are rotated on their axes, the

individual wiresare drawn `from the spools 1i inthe spool-carriers on said disks, auth-pass ing between the base M and sleeve m of `the .strand-core-laying heads, are bent, subjected heads E revolve` in an opposite direction to that of the disks K, the individual wires are drawn from the spools R in the spool-carriers on said heads, aud,-passing between the sleeve handbase H of `the strand-laying heads, are

ILO

IOS

rio

During `this operation of parts the 4. meansbeut, subjected to tensilestrain and laid around the strand-cores to form strands, which, sixin num ber, pass over the grooved rollers g', having bearings in the brackets g2, secured to the arms g, to and into the rope-laying head C, and are laid-in a reverse direction to thelay of the wires around the strandcores--around the rope-core, vpassing from the reel Y to and into the hollow main shaft B, to said rope-laying head C, to form the rope, said ropethence passing around the wheel Z and through the drawing-rolls z to a suitable reeling device.

. If desired, the disks K may be caused to revolve in the saine direction as that of the heads E by removing the shields s from the sleeves d', to permit the bevel-gears 7c3 to be removed from the shafts 7c, then tightening the setscrews e4, to cause the shafts e and la to more together, and replacing the shields s.

ltwillbe observed thatthe strand-core-laying heads rotate with the disks K, while the strandlaying heads rotate with the heads E; further, thatthe groups of mechanism are carried around the axis of the main shaft B by means of the radiating` arms d g.

with spoolcarriers containing wire bearing spools, the hoisting-rope shownin Fig. 9 will be manufactured upon putting the machine in lnotion.

By the adjustability of many parts of the machine, as described hereinbefore, a variety of ropes may be made on my machine differ ing from that shown in Eig. 9 in the arrange-l ment and number of Wires. l

The process or method described herein forms the subject-matter ofan application filed by me on the 15th day of December,1882, numbered 79,821, and no claim thereto is herein set up. n

Having thus described my invention,\\vhat I claim ist 1. A series of rotating heads provided with arms adapted to carry wire-bearing spools, and having each a laying-head connected to and rotating with said heads, a. series ot' rotating disks provided with arms adapted to'` carry wire-bearing spools, and having each a layinghead connected to and rotating with said disks, and a revolving main shaft provided with a rope-laying head, in combination, substantially as set forth. v

2. A series of rotating heads provided with arms adapted to carry wire-bearing spools, and having each a laying-head connected to and rotating with said heads, and adapted to remove bends in the wires and impart a bendof itsown thereto, a series of rotating disks provided with arms adapted to carry wire-bearing spools, and having each a laying-head connected to and rotating with said disks, and adapted to remove bends in the wiresand im part thereto abend of its own, and a revolving main shaft provided with a rope-laying head, in combination, substantially as set forth.

3. A series of rotatingheads provided-with arms adapted to carry wire-bearin g spools, and

having each a laying-head connected to andA rotating with said heads, and adapted to Vsubject the wires passing therethrough to tensilev strain, a series of rotatingdisks provided with arms adapted to carry wire-bearin g spools, and having each a laying-head connected to'pand rotating with said disks, and adaptedl to subsaid arms of the-.disk and ,to contain wire-beau4 ing spools, and a laying? head connected to "and rotating with. said disk, in combination, vsubstantially as andforthe purpose set forth. When the heads E and disks K are filled 5. A sleeve,`0l,havingf an ampie, adapted to carry a core-bearing spool., a rotating hollow shaft,fe, having'its bearings in the sleeve'l, land provided with a head having arms, a number of spoolicarriensadapted to be attached to ,said arms-.and to contain wire-bearing spools,

"a laying-head connected to and rotating with said head, a rotating hollow shaft, 7s, having yits bearingsin the hollovvshafte,aiid provided atits forwardend with a disk having arms, a number of spoolcarriers adapted'to be attached to said arms of ,the disk and to contain-wire-bear- -ing spools, and a laying-headA connected to and rotating with said-disk, in combination, substantially as and for the purpose setvforth. 6. rEhe rotating hollowlshaft e, head E, secured to said shaft, and provided with arms e2,adapted to carrywire bearing spools, a laying head connected to head E, the rotating shaft k, having its bearing in the hollow shaft c, and pro` vided with disk K, having a number of arms adapted to carry wire-bearing spools, and a layinglhead connected to disk K, in combination, substantially as setforth.

7. AAlspool-carrier consisting of a base having a rigidfarm, aV swinging arm, and means for holding the Vswingingafrm parallel with the ssj roo

rigid arm to retain a spool between said arms IZS arms, and provided with a'friction-wheel having a corrugatedstud adapted to engage with the spool, a friction-block, and means for regulating the pressure between said block andl wheel, substantially as set forth.

9. A spool-carrier having a fixed arm, the swinging armp', provided with a cam-web, rand the bent retaining wire, substantially as `set forth.

10. The improved spool-carrier consistingV l2. The combination, with the base H, having the sleeve h and set-screw h', of the sot-A ted tube I, provided with a thumbnut, and means secured to the forward end of the tube for retaining the sleeve on its base, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. i

FREDERICK A, WISWELL.

Witnesses: y

D. W. Mom, C. E. HAMBLET. 

